Christmas will soon be with us and you may well be looking to buy a literary gift for your favourite niece, nephew, or any kid who might appreciate a book instead of a box of chocolates or novelty socks. As usual we feature books which cover the broad areas of ‘dark fiction’ rather than straight horror which always seems to be in short supply. All these books were published in 2019 and have been previously reviewed at some point in the year.
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There are some very original and engaging titles and are all excellent reads. I guarantee there are some real winners for budding horror fans out there….

They are presented in alphabetical order by author.

If you wish to purchase any of these books, simply click on the book's title, or use the widget at the end of this article ​

ANN AGUIRRE: HEARTWOOD BOX

Ann Aguirre’s highly engaging Heartwood Box is not a traditional horror novel, but there is much to enjoy in a teen thriller which blends elements of science fiction, messages passing through time (in the Heartwood Box) and an outstanding female leading character in Araceli Flores Harper. This spunky teenager finds herself living in a tiny town with her ancient great aunty Ottillie as her parents are going to be working abroad whilst she completes her final year at high school. Upon arrival Araceli notices missing posters all over town and soon realises people have been disappearing in this town for twenty years, including the husband of her great aunt and kids from her new school.

The clever plot has several different layers; first up, Araceli is half-Mexican in a town which is incredibly white and so it has interesting stuff to say about race. The teenager also likes to dance and tries to get on the school team. It convincingly tells a teenage story of a girl trying to fit it and her developing friendship with the nice boy who lives across the road, who also happens to be the sheriff’s son and has issues of his own. As the disappearances continue Araceli finds a freaky way of writing to an American soldier who has just shipped to France way back in 1917 and much of the plot focusses on this time-slip development. It could have been something out of the X-Files, but I found it worked very well and the relationship between Araceli and her great aunt was perfectly pitched. Make sure you hang around for the wonderful knock-out ending! AGE 13+

LAURA BATES: THE BURNING
 
If you’re on the hunt for a YA novel which effortlessly blends the horrors of teenage social media with the tale of a 400-year-old witch trial, then look no further. This was a superb read which carries a powerful message about the dangers of posting the wrong stuff and peer pressure, delivering it in a naturalistic style, which never becomes heavy handed or preachy. In no time at all you will be rooting for the teenage protagonist Anna who is dragged through a horrific emotional wringer. The Burning is horror with a light touch, the pain and long-term repercussions of one naive decision becomes scarier than any supernatural bogeyman. The fallout was severe, and The Burning opens with Anna and her mother leaving their old life in Birmingham behind to live in a small coastal village near Saint Andrews on the east side of Scotland.
 
Starting any new school is difficult and Laura Bates completely nails the awkwardness of this transition, but before long she becomes friends with local girls, but bullying is never far away and soon her past catches up with her. The Burning has a second main story which nudges it into the horror genre, beyond the horrors of everyday teenage life. As part of a school history project everyone researches a topic of local interest and after Anna discovers an obscure reference to someone who was suspected of being a witch centuries earlier. As she uncovers the story, the plight of Maggie, she realises the ‘witch’ has many startling similarities to her own story and starts to feel a strong connection to the long-dead young woman, part of which whose story is told in flashback. In my experience in YA fiction kids generally avoid books which obviously have a heavy-handed message, The Burning works because its warning are very subtle with a top-notch story, believable story and a convincing dose of history. AGE 13+
 
AMELINDA BERUBE: HERE THERE ARE MONSTERS 

I was really captivated by this slow-burning YA horror/fantasy novel which genuinely nailed the troubled psyche of a sixteen-year-old girl who is trying to deal with the sudden disappearance of her little sister, aged thirteen. The younger girl Deirdre has issues, which are revealed slowly as the plot moves backwards and forwards through narratives before and after the disappearance. Although Skye was not to blame, she feels guilty and it puts a strain on her relationship with her struggling parents who try not to accuse her. But when they’re so stressed tensions run very high. 

The supernatural aspect is slowly filtered into the book and the haunting aspect of the story is cleverly connected to Skye, her new friends and what lives within the local forest. Or is it something which has followed the sisters throughout their childhood? The compelling friendship dynamics Skye has with her new school friends works very well as she struggles to cope even more as the length of the disappearance stretches. The mystery quickly deepens, and I found this to be an excellent and atmospheric read for teenagers looking for a subtle supernatural slow burner. AGE 13+

JIMMY CAJOLEAS: THE GOOD DEMON

The Good Demon was a very refreshing, rather different, and quite funny spin on the possession story which begins after a demon is forcibly removed from teenage Clare by two charismatic Christians. This was not exactly an exorcism, as exorcisms are Catholic ceremonies, this was a ‘deliverance’ and what makes this slightly odd is that Clare is sad to be without her demon, which had lived within her for several years. She always looked upon the demon as a friend and a comforting experience which she referred to as ‘Her Only’. She is struggling to get on with her life when she meets the teenage boy who helped with the deliverance and they become friends, with him feeling a certain about of guilt for his part in the ‘deliverance’.
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Bizarrely, although the demon is gone Clare believes she is receiving messages from ‘Her Only’ she begins to search for her demon, with the teenager whom she begins to fall for. You’ll have great fun following the clues, meeting irrelevant characters and will be rooting for Clare in no time, who was a lovely character with an authentic voice. There was a lot going on and the book has much to say about fundamentalism, family, first love in a very entertaining and non-judgemental manner. AGE 13+

ANN DAVILA CARDINAL: FIVE MIDNIGHTS

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced supernatural thriller set over a few hot and sweaty days in Puerto Rico. An American teenager (who has a Puerto Rican father) who speaks rubbish Spanish visits the island for the summer she gets sucked into a supernatural mystery surrounding the disappearance of her cousin and several of his friends. Luckily her uncle is the chief of police and so she has some insider knowledge on what is going on and inserts herself into a convoluted and brooding mystery.

The horror aspect revolves around a Puerto Rican version of the boogieman who is killing teenagers with birthdays whose are very close together and known to Lupe. Has someone activated a curse, or how is this create targeting its victims? This is all part of the drama Lupe is sucked into.  Seen from multiple points of view, throw in a splash of romance, a musical heartthrob, Lupe is an energetic lead character who is not scared to clash with the tough local women who see her as a ‘gringo’ interloper who needs to be put in her place. A highly entertaining supernatural thriller with a convincing and enlightening culturally different setting.  AGE 13+

GABRIEL DYLAN: WHITEOUT

A huge snowstorm is brewing whilst a group of British sixth form school pupils retire to their hotel after a hard day of skiing, in the remote mountains of Austria. The hotel is weirdly short of staff and all the locals have abandoned their shops. In the middle of the night one of the girls screams after blood is found and the pupils soon discover some of their teachers have also disappeared. They quickly realise something horrible is outside and once a ski instructor is ripped out of the door and they are under attack. This all happens incredibly quickly and soon the group are attempting to hide and wait it out but with the storm raging they realise there is no help coming anytime soon.

Whiteout is an outstanding addition to the Red Eye series. It was a very gripping book that wasted no time introducing the horror elements and was unrelenting once it got going. I say this because the deaths start mounting up as early as page sixty.  This very violent opening section gives the reader terror, action and humour revolving around the time the enemy makes its first bloody appearance. I would recommend this novel to anyone who reads the Red Eye series or who enjoys action and horror novels. Overall, it was a great page turner and an easy, quick and undemanding read that will leave you satisfied. AGE 12+

CAROLINE FLARITY: THE GHOST HUNTER’S DAUGHTER

Sixteen-year-old Anna is having a tough time at school, often known as ‘Zombie Girl’, because she has a prominent scar on her face and a father with a very odd job. He is a type of ghost hunter (or exorcist) and specialises more in ‘cleaning’ haunted objects, rather than ghosts. They struggle to pay the bills and Anna still reflects on the death of her mother eight years earlier and the fact that her soul may be stuck in spiritual limbo and could still be possessed by a demon. I thought this novel cleverly balanced its supernatural story with the normal trials and tribulations of a teenage girl who comes from a weird family and does her best to deal with it. Anna has two good friends she can count on (Freddy and Dor) but has a major crush on a boy from school which plays an important part in the story.

As well as covering stuff like social media shaming, bullying and peer pressure the supernatural angle builds nicely as the plot develops into a much wider conspiracy. As Anna is her dad’s assistant in his supernatural dealings she is bullied at school, but at the same time strange stuff really does seem to be happening, which many people believe is because of a rare solar storm which will light up the night sky. Anna is an engaging character, she is not perfect, makes a lot of wrong decisions, but nobody gets it right all the time and shines when the chips are down. A great combination of school life, teenage angst and a few demons. AGE 13+
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FRANCES HARDINGE: DEEPLIGHT
 
Hardinge’s last three novels have mixed the supernatural and historical fiction, Deeplight is set on a sprawling archipelago called the Myriad. There are hundreds of tiny islands which trade with each other for survival and the action begins on the Island of Lady’s Crave where two fourteen-year-old street urchins Hark and his best friend Jelt scrape a living. You could be forgiven for thinking an adventure story with two orphans sounds slightly familiar, however, it is the setting and the world-building which marks this book apart from the competition. Myriad is a superb creation and if you’re after a location to fire the minds and imaginations of young teenagers then look no further than Deeplight, as the backdrop is something special and positively brimming with clever ideas.
 
For centuries the islanders lived in awe and dread of the grotesque and terrible gods that lurked in the deep seas, which were effectively giant sea-monsters who could attack boats and ships at a moment’s notice. However, thirty years before the novel begins there was a cataclysmic event where all the god-monsters unexpectedly killed each other. In the three decades since the monster gods died, fisherman and travellers have discovered fragments of the dead creatures whilst out fishing or swimming. These finds supposedly have exciting and useful properties, so a diving and submersible salvage and scavenger culture has emerged all over the Myriad. Ultimately finding valuable ‘godware’ can make your fortune, but much of it is fake and the two teenagers get sucked into this world when they find a very strange piece of godware, which is most definitely not fake. Children novels which allow youngsters to forget technology and escape to faraway places are vitally important as we all need to dream of these places. Lands which are drawn so vividly they become real enough to touch are truly special and Frances Hardinge has created such a place in Deeplight.  AGE 12+

JUSTINA IRELAND: DREAD NATION

During the American Civil War battle of Gettysburg, the dead begin to walk and suddenly both sides of the bloody conflict realise there is a new enemy and temporarily put their differences aside. This stunning novel picks up the story fifteen years later. The word zombie is never used (‘shambler’ is the preferred term) and there is not the slightest hint of anything supernatural, it is merely portrayed as some sort of infection which science cannot yet explain. As Dread Nation is set fifteen years after the outbreak and America has begun to recover.  Many cities in the east have been lost and there is now a Thirteenth Amendment that ensures there is still no equality between white and black people who are still severely downtrodden, a key recurring theme.

On one level Dread Nation is a convincing horror novel, but it is much more than that, having much to say about race, equality and gender. It also has both a beautiful and memorable voice, being narrated in the first person by fifteen-year-old Jane McKeene who is black (or mixed-race) and is used as a virtual slave as a type of bodyguard (called Attendants) to a white woman. A new law, the ‘Negro and Native Re-education Act’ forces young black women to be taught a mixture of fighting skills and house etiquette and are the first line of defence against any shamblers which might attack the walled settlements. Jane is a funny, sassy, proud and terrific character whom you’ll be rooting for all the way. AGE 13+

LIZ KERIN: THE PHANTOM FOREST

If you’re looking for a read which mixes horror, fantasy and a dash of ancient mythology then Liz Kerin’s The Phantom Forest is well worth investigating. Part of the novel is set in a Hell type location called the Underworld where a cursed demon called Haben lives. He’s a sympathetic character, whom at certain times turns into a creature called ‘The Savage’, when this transformation occurs, he is unable to resist the taste of human flesh. Above ground, in the town of Khronasa where most of the story is set, several times a year, there is a human sacrifice to this creature. When the novel opens a teenage girl Seycia gets into a fight and catches the eye of General Simeon who is the feared dignitary in charge of the local area. Due to bad blood with Seycia’s dead father soon the girl and her little brother are next in line to be lunch for ‘The Savage’. Thrown into the pit, which fills with water, everyone awaits the appearance of the fearful creature. Seycia is one tough girl and is not going to be an easy kill for anyone, not even an immortal demon.

There were many plot strands in this fresh and entertaining novel which had me guessing where and when it might be set? There were guns and cars, but there was also talk of long ended wars, but it remained elusively difficult to pinpoint it as post-apocalyptic. Interestingly, the overruling empire had banned human sacrifices, but General Simeon allowed the practice to go on anyway. He was a great character with a horribly deformed face and a long memory; throw in a spunky little brother, the seeds of rebellion and the quest to discover the Forest of Laida where human souls were kept it was all great stuff which licked along at a nice pace.  At a point human and demon get confused and the developing friendship of the demon Haden and Seycia was a major highlight. AGE 13+

CAITLIN KITTREDGE: DREAMING DARKLY

I was quickly sucked into Caitlin Kittredge’s moody and twisty gothic mystery, Dreaming Darkly, which was loaded with a tasty dose of moody teen romance. Set on Darkhaven, an American island off the New England coast, whose sole occupants are two feuding families, this atmospheric, fast-paced page-turner featuring a teenager who moves to the island after the death of her mother. Sixteen-year-old Ivy Bloodgood ends up staying with her uncle, a man she never knew existed until he claimed her after her mother’s death. At first it looks like things might be working out for Ivy, who is a great leading character, until odd things begin to happen around her and she begins to see weird things, has crazy dreams, wakes up in odd places and begins to question her own sanity.

Along the way Ivy meets the teenage son of the neighbouring feuding family and hears of an old family curse; the majority of which either end up committing suicide or murdering someone. Friendship soon develops and the boy helps her solve the mystery of who she is and who her absent (or dead) father is. Nothing is quite what it seems and Dreaming Darkly is a fine mix of moody family drama, teenage angst, mystery novel with heavy supernatural overtones.  AGE 13+

DAWN KURTAGICH: TEETH IN THE MIST

I am a huge fan of Dawn Kurtagich and we have featured both her previous novels The Dead House and Creeper Man on Ginger Nuts. Her latest novel Teeth in the Mist is perhaps even more ambitious and is a complex story, set in a huge mansion in rural Wales, split over three narratives in the present day, 1851 and 1583 with a strong supernatural theme permeating through the story. It was a very chunky book, with different fonts and voices and took a bit of time to get into the flow but it is worthy sticking with. This was the case with both her previous two novels, let us hope teenage readers give it a chance as it is not an easy read and may overwhelm many.
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Sixteen-year-old photography buff Zoey ends up at Medwyn Mill House and is fascinated with the ruin and after spending the night there with her friend Poulton and is sure they are not alone.  Jumping back to 1851 seventeen-year-old Roan arrives at Mill House as a ward and soon realises she is connected to an ancient secret and must try and escape the house, but that is not as easy as it might sound. However, there is something connecting the three young women, which also includes Hermoine who relocates with her husband to the same area in 1583.  This was a very strong blend of mystery, horror and dark fantasy, resulting in another highly original read. AGE 13+

KIM LIGGETT: THE GRACE YEAR

Kim Liggett’s The Grace Year is a very clever mix of teenage angst and gender suppression in an unnamed, superstitious and backward society. Tierney James lives in an isolated village where at the age of sixteen girls are chosen to be brides and there is shame upon the families of those not chosen. The rejected individuals are then given menial jobs and will never marry. Tierney is a tomboy and does not expect to be chosen…. However, before the marriages take place the girls (both chosen and not chosen) are banished for a calendar year to an isolated camp to survive for themselves, they are not allowed to leave and there are many dangers.

Why does this happen? It is believed that for this year girls develop magical powers and if they’re kept isolated then they cannot cause any harm to the rest of the village, particularly men who may fall under their thrall. Kim Liggett creates a very believable setting and society in which suppression dominates the everyday lives of girls who do not know any better. This is a world in which a woman can be hung with little evidence and certainly no trial.  As the girl’s time in the isolated camp lengths the author plays an excellent game of smoke and mirrors as the full extent of the conspiracy is revealed. The Grace Year was an outstanding thriller with a young woman fighting against oppression in a society where she had no voice.  AGE 13+

JACQUELINE WEST: LAST THINGS
 
Young Adult novels with a musical theme are notoriously tricky to get right and when you throw in heavy metal it becomes even more difficult to avoid the dreaded devil-horn clichés. Amazingly, Jacqueline West superb Last Things avoids these pitfalls in a gripping tale of a tortured teenage musician who believes his success might be because of a strange conversation he can’t get out of his head. The music scenes with Anders truly sizzle, equally his obsession with improving his guitar style and the comedown when the gig is over is completely convincing when he is alone brooding in his bedroom. The story is told via two uniquely different first-person narratives in alternating chapters; ‘Thea’ and ‘Anders’, with all the action taking place in the small Minnesota town of Greenwood. The band are beautifully portrayed as three young men, with dreams of escaping their small town, until the cracks begin to show after Anders makes a few rash big decisions on his own. They are big news and it is easy for the reader to get carried along by their success.
 
Where’s the supernatural angle you might ask? Anders believes, even if he practices for hours every day, he plays better than he should. He suspects something has happened to make him this good and feels that deep down he is a cheat and does not deserve this success.  The blend of atmosphere, the music vibe, the subtle supernatural approach and a host of engaging characters made this one of the best YA supernatural thrillers I have read in a while. Make sure you’re listening to Rage against the Machine if you’re checking out this book! AGE 12+
 
ALEXANDER YATES: HOW WE BECAME WICKED

How We Became Wicked was an odd, but entertaining, mix of apocalyptic and dystopian thriller. At some point in the past a type of ultraviolet mosquito like insect, which become known as ‘Singers’, carry an infection which leads a huge proportion of the human population being murdered by the other half (or third…) The plague, which is called ‘Wicked’, spreads through the world creating three types of people which effectively ends the world as we know it. The story picks up the action some years later when humanity is on its last legs.
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Modern teen dystopian fiction is forever splitting people into groups, but the idea in How We Became Wicked is quite a neat one. Group one is ‘The Wicked’ who have been bitten by the ‘Singers’ and live solely to kill those who have not been infected. They are not mindless thugs and maintain an intellect and can hide their infection before casually adding something like “I would really like to explore the inside of your brain” into the conversation. The Second group is ‘The True’ who live in contained and isolated communities and the novel is set in one of these communities on a remote Canadian island, which has been cut off from the rest of the world for years. The third group is ‘The Vexed’ which is a much smaller group who are immune to the mosquitoes, some of which live with ‘The True’. The story is  mostly seen from the point of view of two teenagers, who were once a couple, one is ‘True’ and the other ‘Vexed’ and a complex and clever plot as they begin to dig into the history of the plague, weird goings on at the lighthouse on a neighbouring island and how it is to be the two youngest inhabitants at the island by some years. This book was outstandingly quirky, had lots going for it, many clever observations and an outstanding ending. AGE 12+

Three is most definitely the magic number when it comes to sequels and series; the classic beginning, the powerful middle and the knockout ending, famously captured by trilogies such as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It’s also fair to say that many series, with yet another unwelcome entry, overstay their welcome and after a while begin to stink. Sadly, a significant number of these lurk in YA and children’s fiction which is full of authors which have found a moderately successful formula and refuse to budge from it, or their publisher will not let them.
 
We recently ran an accompanying article on duologies and today we list our favourite trilogies. Many of the best of these were always intended to be three books, a few might have been extended due to unexpected success and a few yet may yet develop into quartets.
 
If you’re looking for something to buy a teenager for Christmas there are lots to choose from here, many featured ventures into science fiction and fantasy, generally inhabiting the world of ‘dark fiction’. Enjoy, both the old and the new!
 
They are listed alphabetically and the date of first and last book is noted. Do get in touch if you think there are any glaring omissions.

KATE HARRISON: SOUL BEACH (2011-13)

Suspenseful and thoughtful supernatural thriller about a virtual cyber world full of dead souls stuck in an online type of Purgatory which has been billed ‘Facebook for the Dead’. Alice receives an email from her dead sister she assumes it must be a sick joke, but it includes details that only her sister would know. Later, Alice receives an invitation to the virtual world of Soul Beach which is much more than it seems in this neat self-contained trilogy which builds an intricate story around with social media, thrillers, technology and loss. AGE 12+.
 
LILY HERNE: DEADLANDS (2012-14)

This is a very cool horror adventure series set ten years after a zombie plague almost destroyed South Africa written by a prolific author who also writes under other names. The survivors are protected by a shadowy group known as Guardians and their yearly ‘lottery’ picks a ‘Chosen One’, this happens to be the main character Lele who goes on the run in the Deadlands rather than face what the Guardians have in store for her. This really isn’t a lottery you want to win.  In recent years there has been a real glut of YA zombie reads which has thankfully now petered out, but this remains one of my favourites. AGE 12+.
 
JOHN HORNOR JACOBS: THE TWELVE FINGERED BOY(2013-15) 

This is one of my very favourite YA novels of the last few years from a versatile author who effortlessly moves around genres; from YA to adult horror and fantasy. I first came across him after loving his adult horror debut Southern Gods and followed that with an entertaining zombie novel This Dark Earth and his fantasy series The Incorruptibles which moved more into fantasy but retained strong whiff of YA. I reckon this author could turn his hand to just about anything and this dark coming of age tale set in a juvie prison about a boy with special powers is hard to beat and very easy for teenage boys to connect with. AGE 12+.
 
LEO HUNT: 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT (2015-17)
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Outstanding series about a teen who inherits both a substantial sum of money and a house from the father (who was a famous TV magician) he did not know when he was alive. To his surprise he also inherits the ghosts who are trapped in his house and were used as slaves by his father. Sensing he is both new, naive, and not exactly supernatural savvy, the ghosts try to break free and kill him and anybody else they can get their hands on. Very quickly things start to go wrong and the ghosts start to cause havoc around the local town as the boy is a very inexperienced master who also has to contend with school, GCSEs, and friends, never mind the Devil who is after his soul! AGE 12+.
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TERI TERRY: DARK MATTERS (2017-18)

Contagion opens the very clever Dark Matter trilogy about the horrific effects of a biological experiment gone wrong which spreads a disease with a mortality rate of about 95%. The epidemic spreads incredibly fast and soon quarantines are being set up everywhere and people cannot travel. Much of the action is set in rural Scotland and delves into dodgy experimentations, teenagers on the run and gives an outstanding portrayal of Britain pushed to the brink in a very short space of time. Forget Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth, Teri Terry is the queen of apocalyptic dystopias with this fine follow-up to the outstanding Slated series, itself a trilogy until a prequel recently arrived. AGE 13+
 
MARK WALDEN: EARTHFALL (2012-17)

This is one of my favourite ‘invasion of Earth’ style stories for kids which packs a lot of adventure, technology and monsters into its three books. Sam wakes to see strange vessels looming above the skies of London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently towards the enormous ships which emit a persistent noise obviously in a type of trance. Only Sam seems immune to the signal and very quickly there are very few people left and the boy is left hiding and alone. Picking up the story six months later Sam is hunkered down in an underground bunker and is wounded by a scouting alien drone, but this chance encounter makes Sam realise he is not alone, and that the resistance exists, and he is now part of it. AGE 11+
 
SCOTT WESTERFELD: MIDNIGHTERS (2004-06)

Brilliantly scary series which begins with The Secret Hour about a town that freezes in time for one-hour every day at midnight; but having a secret hour, when there is a supernatural threat to the local area. However, the town is defended by a group called ‘The Midnighters’ and when fifteen-year-old Jessica Day arrives she realises she is one them  and develops special abilities which help her fight ancient creatures that try to enter our world in the secret hour. Before long the creatures are determined to destroy Jess and make a special beeline for this spunky leading character. This was a clever series which would have made a very nice television show. AGE 13+
 
SAM WILSON: EXTINCTION TRIALS (2017-19)
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The Extinction Trials is set in a world very much like ours; dealing with its own problems of hunger, overcrowding and lack of healthcare. As it’s also a dystopian setting life is cheap, wealth is shared unfairly and there are regular life-threatening contests held for participants to win much needed supplies and medicine. This world is split into two continents; on one live humans (Earthasia), squeezed together competing for space and the scant resources which do exist, on the other landmass live huge dinosaurs (Piloria), with potential living areas and food supplies that we might be able to utilise should there be no monsters. The winners of the various competitions which take place in the first half of the novel are those chosen to explore and extract valuable resources from Piloria, including dinosaur eggs. AGE 11+

SCOTT WESTERFELD: PEEPS AKA PARASITE POSITIVE (UK) (2005-6)

Exciting, vaguely futuristic vampire novels Parasite Positive and Last Days have a twist in which vampirism is seen as a disease. Cal picks up this infection and is a carrier who gives it to his girlfriend and tracks down those he has infected with the disease which is called ‘peeps’ creating ghoul like vampire creatures. The second novel cleverly develops this supernatural apocalypse with five teenagers fighting for survival as the deadly epidemic spreads. AGE 13+
 
MATT WHYMAN: THE SAVAGES (2012-14)
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I reckon this author must be a fan of the cult 1980s horror film Parents as it has some major similarities and is an entertaining and blackly funny look at quite a different family who are shocked when their daughter Sasha brings home a vegan boyfriend. This is a major problem for the ‘Savage’ family as they descend from a long line of cannibals. Matt Whyman is such a cool author, impossible to pigeonhole, always trying something new, and I’m a huge fan of Boy Kills Man a gun crime thriller set in Columbia and many of his other novels. AGE 13+

I always look forward to a new novel from Frances Hardinge, her rich run of superb YA releases is surely unrivalled and Deeplight sits comfortably alongside the outstanding Cuckoo Song, The Lie Tree and A Skinful of Shadows. This author is the absolute master at blending genres and Deeplight is no different, effortlessly dancing between dark fantasy and horror, with a dash of steampunk thrown in to mix things up. Ginger Nuts of Horror recently interviewed Frances about Deeplight and her other fiction, if you missed it you can catch up here:
 
https://gingernutsofhorror.com/young-blood/interview-with-frances-hardinge-the-art-of-blending-fantasy-horror-and-historical-fiction-genres
 
Whereas Hardinge’s last three novels have mixed the supernatural and historical fiction, this latest tale is set on an alternative, fantastical world, on a sprawling archipelago called the Myriad. There are hundreds of tiny islands which trade with each other for survival and the action begins on the Island of Lady’s Crave where two fourteen-year-old street urchins Hark and his best friend Jelt scrape a living. Both boys were brought up in an orphanage and have run with gangs and wheel and deal to survive, often taking hard knocks along the way. The novel is seen from Hark’s point of view, but much of the mischief the boys find themselves in is Jelt’s doing, who lives particularly close to the edge and is often the dominant side of the friendship. 
 
You could be forgiven for thinking an adventure story with two orphans sounds slightly familiar, however, it is the setting and the world-building which marks this book apart from the competition. Myriad is a superb creation and if you’re after a location to fire the minds and imaginations of young teenagers then look no further than Deeplight, as the backdrop is something special and positively brimming with clever ideas. For centuries the islanders lived in awe and dread of the grotesque and terrible gods that lived in the deep seas, which were effectively giant sea-monsters who could attack boats and ships at a moment’s notice. However, thirty years before the novel begins there was a cataclysmic event where all the god-monsters unexpectedly killed each other, and the reason is shrouded in mystery, a part of recent history strangely forgotten. It takes its time getting there, but this background information surrounding the gods eventually becomes critical to the plight of our young heroes Hark and Jelt.
 
The relationship between Hark and Jelt is key to the success of the book. Jelt is the instigator of many of the dodgy schemes which often leave them in trouble, however, Hark feels duty bound to follow him as his sturdier friend protected Jelt in their orphanage days and never lets him forget it. Jelt is not a particularly sympathetic character and the teenage reader will enjoy the backwards and forwards relationship between the two boys. Hark knows Jelt is not good for him but is still not strong enough to break free and readers will undoubtedly pick up on the elements of peer pressure relevant to kids today.
 
How are poor kids meant to survive once they’re ejected from the orphanages? How can they make any money? The answer is pretty cool…. In the three decades since the monster gods died, fisherman and travellers have discovered fragments of the dead creatures whilst out fishing or swimming. These finds supposedly have exciting and useful properties, so a diving and submersible salvage and scavenger culture has emerged all over the Myriad. Ultimately finding valuable ‘godware’ can make your fortune, but much of it is fake and the two teenagers get sucked into this world when they find a very strange piece of godware, which is most definitely not fake, and although it looks to bring them easy money, it brings even more trouble in a very clever and original story strand.
 
The perception different characters had of the monster gods was fascinating; Hark dreams of them through romantic eyes, but an old priest who remembers the reality reveals the true story. Other characters search for ancient scripts which would make clear what really occurred thirty years earlier, whilst dangerous fanatical sects plot to see the return of the gods. Deeplight is loaded with clever observations that add to the richness of the world Hardinge has created; I loved the idea of the ‘Sea Kissed’, those who have spent too much type underwater which can lead to a loss of hearing and communication in sign, including the teenage girl Selphin who has an entertaining friendship (of sorts) with Hark. The steampunk elements are developed when we meet the scientist Dr Vyne and her exhilarating ‘Butterly’ submarine. The dead god monsters also have all sorts of creative names, including ‘The Glass Cardinal’ and ‘The Hidden Lady’. Fantasy lovers are going to adore this book and its many quirks. 
 
Children novels which allow youngsters to forget their mobile phones and television and escape to faraway places are vitally important as we all need to dream of faraway places. Lands which are drawn so vividly they become real enough to touch are truly special and Frances Hardinge has created such a place in Deeplight.  As the story develops Hardinge slowly reveals the bigger geographical picture of where the Myriad archipelago is in relation to the wider world and has planted the seeds for a location which is ripe for exploration in future stories. I have said many times in my commentaries on Ginger Nuts of Horror that there are quite simply too many never-ending sequels in teen fiction, but with Frances Hardinge I am happy to make an exception.
 

 
Tony Jones

'One of our finest storytellers,' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent

From Frances Hardinge, the Costa Award-winning author of The Lie Tree comes Deeplight.

The gods of The Myriad were as real as the coastlines and currents, and as merciless as the winds and whirlpools. Now the gods are dead, but their remains are stirring beneath the waves . . .

On the streets of the Island of Lady's Crave live 14-year-old street urchins Hark and his best friend Jelt. They are scavengers: diving for relics of the gods, desperate for anything they can sell. But there is something dangerous in the deep waters of the undersea, calling to someone brave enough to retrieve it.

When the waves try to claim Jelt, Hark will do anything to save him. Even if it means compromising not just who Jelt is, but what he is . . .

The thirteen offerings in this Halloween Hauntings feature have several things in common, the most important of these is that they are all outstanding reads and rank amongst the best YA dark fiction novels I have read in the cast couple of years. There is an outstanding mix of newcomers to the genre such as Amelinda Bérubé and Theresa Braun, mixing with genre big-hitters Amy Lukavics whom I have frequently reviewed and recommended on Ginger Nuts of Horror.

As it is Halloween time the inter-connecting theme of this article is hauntings, either in the context of haunted house fiction, or more personal individual hauntings. So, there are no zombies or vampires, just good old-fashioned scares. Which is, after all, the lifeblood of the genre and Halloween. 

All thirteen books have been previously reviewed on Ginger Nuts over the previous four years, so you might say I am cherry-picking some of my ‘haunting themed’ favourites in this article. All have been published in the last two or three years and the majority of the reviews are brief rewrites of longer original reviews.

They are not ranked, although the ‘Queen of YA Horror’ Amy Lukavics is undoubtedly first and she is the only author to feature twice. Sadly, Amy did not publish a novel in 2019, let us hope Her Majesty returns in 2020.  ​

Richard Farren Barber’s Closer Still is a ghost story with a seriously good haunting, much of which never stretches beyond the bedroom of a deeply troubled teenager. This book was probably was not written with the YA market in mind, but the believable and engaging characters make it a book lots of young teenagers will identify with. Pulling in under 130-pages, with absolutely no flab or a word wasted, it could be the perfect gift for a kid who does not read much or is put off by big books and is interested in a very contemporary ghost story.Fifteen-year-old Rachel is bullied by a group of girls who used to be her best friends, with the tormenting often taking place at school. Much of the rest of the novella takes place in Rachel’s bedroom where she sees the ghost of her dead ex-best friend Katie. The ghost is not exactly unpleasant, more unnerving, but has an agenda of her own. Before the death all the girls were fast-friends and much of the novella is about what happened to the friendship and the circumstances which led to her death. The author expertly shrouds this shocking revelation until late into the story which picks up pace nicely as the ghost grows more powerful. This was a terrific novella which combines many clever story lines utilising social media, bully, teenage angst, friendship, guilt and the supernatural.

 Alex Bell’s dark and unsettling tale of tiny porcelain dolls, the size of two pence pieces, is an edgy read loaded with tension and dark atmosphere. Right from the opening pages, with teenagers unwisely fooling with online Ouija boards it builds into an outstanding page-turner with these evil little creatures whispering from behind a locked glass cabinet and in their words they have the power to kill.  Equally demonic, the Charlotte’s have the ability to control and influence others to do their bidding, sneaking around a vast haunted house sowing horrible plans and turning characters against each other.
 
Loaded with gothic atmosphere, with a superb setting, a huge house converted from Dunvagen School for Girls which was closed in 1910, poor Sophie is sucked into a mystery which takes her all the way back to 1910.  But first she must solve the mystery of what really happened to her dead cousin Rebecca. Bearing in mind this novel is aimed at kids it has some hair-raising scenes, these nasty little dolls, once they escape from their cabinet even blind one of the characters with their “stick a needle in their eye game”. However, some of the most unsettling scenes are character driven, rather than perpetrated by the dolls. The pace moves fast, the characterisation is strong and the combination of mystery and the supernatural is finely balanced. It’s perfectly pitched at children who like a good mix of horror, thriller and mystery.

My dad reviews a lot of horror novels and gives me most of my reading material. About six months ago he gave me a book called Reapers are the Angels, he watched me closely as I read it, especially as I got near the end, I think he hoped I would cry. I did, the ending was so sad. I think my dad was secretly pleased about my tears. A few weeks ago, he brought home a book called When We Were Animals, I did not cry, but I still loved it. My dad told me it was written by the same author who wrote Reapers are the Angels, but he used a different name.
 
My dad had known Josh/Alden for a few years on social media, so we contacted him about this interview and review. Both books really caught my attention and I could not quite figure out whether they were adult or Young Adult (YA), whichever, they both genuinely moved me. I’m sure Josh had been asked these questions many times before, but I loved his answers and it was a real thrill for him give me book recommendations and reveal more about the amazing character ‘Blackhat Roy’ (my favourite) from When We Were Animals.
 
AJ: Why do you write under two names Joshua Gaylord and Alden Bell?
 
Josh: This was my editor’s idea.  My first book, Hummingbirds, was a very straight-forward literary New York girls’ school novel.  Nothing supernatural, nothing scary.  So, when my second novel turned out to be a post-apocalyptic Southern Gothic zombie novel, the people who are in charge of the marketing end of my life thought it would be a good idea to develop a separate brand. 
 
AJ: Both novels feature incredibly convincing teenage girl characters. How did you do it? Why girls?
 
Josh: For my money, teenage girls are the best kinds of characters to write about.  Somehow, whatever they’re doing is believable.  I think it’s because teenage girls are masters of disguise—professional adopters of roles.  They luxuriate in their own drama and they are taught by culture to don a different mask for every circumstance.  What more could you ask from a character?  Also, when I was a teenager myself I think I was more of a teenage girl than a teenage boy.  I had no idea how to interpret boys.  They wanted me to hit a ball with a stick and run around in a circle. 
 
AJ: Why did the ending of ‘Reapers Are The Angels’ have to be so sad? Did you ever consider any alternative? Both my dad and I cried at the end.
 
Josh: I cried at the end too.  I think I chose that ending for a few reasons.  *Spoilers ahead* First, I didn’t want to be pressured to write a sequel.  I love the character of Temple, and I wanted her to exist in her most perfect form.  I think I was worried that if I wrote more about that character she would get diluted over time.  Or she would become a parody of herself.  It’s like Housman writes in “To an Athlete Dying Young”—sometimes it’s best to make your exit when you’re at your peak.  Also, I think Temple’s death is a beautiful inevitability.  I love that character all the more precisely because she’s doomed.  To have taken away her doom would have been to do her an injustice.
 
AJ: My favourite character in ‘When We Were Animals’ was Blackhat Roy can you tell us a little bit about how you dreamed up this character? He had this really engaging edge and layers which I found genuinely intriguing and way more interesting than ‘boring’ Peter!
 
Josh: You have made the classic and inevitable choice.  Have you read Wuthering Heights?  Blackhat Roy is exciting, dirty, violent, passionate, problematic Heathcliff.  And Peter is gentle, boring, pleasant Edgar.  Everyone chooses Heathcliff.  You have to choose Heathcliff.  And then you have to reckon with what it means about you that you have chosen the dangerous option, the “bad” option.  That’s the fundamental question for Lumen in the book: She is a classic “good girl” developing a taste for things that are unquestionably “bad”—and she is forced to ask herself what that means about her identity.  Where exactly does she fit in—and what aspects of herself is she fighting against?
 
AJ: Do you see ‘Reapers Are The Angels’ and ‘When We Were Animals’ as Young Adult novels or adults? Do you know of many teenagers reading them? I probably would never have discovered them except for my dad.
 
Josh: When I wrote them, I didn’t think of them as YA books.  I didn’t think of them as adult books either.  I just thought of them as books I would like to read.  My publishers like to market them as YA/Adult crossover novels—but I’m less concerned about categories and labels.  I think teenagers can certainly read them, and I think they would recognize a lot of themselves in the books.  But I think that’s true of adults too.  If you try to write something authentically human, then I don’t think such writing has age limits.
 
AJ: I read you are an English teacher? Do your pupils know you write horror and if so do they read it?
 
Josh: They do know—and, sadly, they don’t care.  It’s an odd phenomenon.  When you’re standing in front of a classroom, you’re just an English teacher.  They know I write books, but I think they see me as too common or goofy to be taken seriously as a writer.  Once you start giving people pop quizzes on their reading, they stop being able to see you as a high intellect.  The funny thing is that I have a friend who teaches at another school, and she has told her students that she knows a writer.  Her students are fascinated with me, apparently.  There’s an adage in there somewhere.  If you get too close, the luster wears off.  I’ve stopped trying to be impressive to people I see every day; I’ll stick with trying to impress people I don’t know. 
 
AJ: My dad says ‘Reapers Are The Angels’ is the finest zombie novel ever written. I loved it too. Do you read zombie fiction and if so what do you recommend or were inspired by?
 
Josh: Actually, I don’t read zombie fiction.  But the books that inspired it are Southern Gothic novels.  If you like Temple, try Tom Franklin’s Smonk or Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone.  Those are both books with main characters who inspired Temple.  And, of course, William Faulkner.  Just read all the Faulkner you can stomach.  There’s nothing better.  In terms of the zombie mythology, I was inspired by movies—especially George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.  I’m a fan of traditional slow zombies.  Once zombies start running, they hog too much of the story space.
 
AJ: In ‘When We Were Animals’ there are no mobile phones and the time period is very vague, when the teenagers go out ‘breaching’ is it supposed to symbolise periods when kids fooled around without phones and social media?
 
Josh: I know—it’s kind of anachronistic.  My first novel is also about a contemporary high school, and there are also no mobile phones.  Honestly, it’s hard for me to incorporate mobile phones into my books.  Those things are like where drama goes to die.  Even in real life.  I see my students spending so much time on their phones, and it makes me sad to think what their version of human communication has become.  I know I sound like an old man—but I do notice how teenagers’ interactions with each other have started losing their spark and spontaneity.  Their reactions IRL are dulled.  Their conversations are curtailed.  When I wanted to talk to a girl in high school I had a crush on, I was a blathering mess.  It was like my own personal journey through hell, because there was was—right in front of me.  For teenagers now it’s too easy to avoid those journeys into hell.
 
AJ: ‘When We Were Animals’ came out in 2015, do you have anything new coming out soon or what are you working on?
 
Josh: I have a number of projects I’m working on—but they’re all in various stages of incompleteness.  There’s actually a third book in the Reapers series that I’m currently trying to find a home for.  Fingers crossed - I would love to see that one in print.
 
AJ: Which horror authors would you recommend to a fourteen-year-old (me) or the kids in your classes?
 
Josh: When I was fourteen, I was immersed in Stephen King and Clive Barker—but I also had a real fixation on gore and the grotesque.  Clive Barker is wonderful because so much of his stuff involves body horror—which is particularly apt for teenagers.  But, of course, you have to have the stomach for it.  I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart. 
 
AJ: In ‘When We Were Animals’ the phenomenon of ‘breaching’ when teenagers run wild and crazy at night is never truly explained why it happens, but the moon seems to play a key role, could you expand upon this a little bit? To begin with I thought it was werewolves!
 
Josh: Yes, the story is definitely my version of werewolf mythology.  But it also comes from the fact that when I was younger I always romanticized werewolves because of their freedom.  I was like Lumen—a good student who was always overly concerned with what people thought about me.  When I thought about what it would be like to be a werewolf, I imagined not caring about all the mundane daily concerns of image or moral consequence.  I loved the idea of just running through the streets, not caring what people thought about me.  For me, the werewolf mythology was always about fulfilling the fantasy of being selfish, of dropping the choirboy façade I was so intent on maintaining.
 
AJ: Could you explain the lack of speech marks and punctuation in ‘Reapers Are The Angels’? It was confusing at first, but I quickly got into the rhythm of it.
 
Josh: That’s a convention of the Southern Gothic style—and I wanted to acknowledge that I was writing in that style.  For me it represents the breakdown of the barrier between dialogue and exposition.  I like the fact that my characters’ voices don’t always seem realistic.  Temple’s voice is too inexplicably poetic and majestic for her character.  That’s the author’s voice creeping in.  That’s the exposition merging with the dialogue.  The lack of quotations marks represents that.
 
AJ: Thank you so much Josh, I’m going to read ‘Wuthering Heights’ next!
 
AJ

I recently read two very different novels by Alden Bell and Joshua Gaylord only to discover they are in fact the same person. Those novels were Reapers Are The Angels and When We Were Animals and had me wondering which guy was the real deal; Josh or Alden? Or both maybe? I enjoyed both books mainly because they both had very strong female protagonists who both moved me in different ways. What else did they have in common? Not much really, except that they were both brilliant and I highly recommend them.

My favourite leading female of the two was most definitely ‘Temple’ (from Reapers) who was the ultimate free spirit. A fifteen-year-old girl seeking redemption, who had lived her entire life in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, trying to survive in a world slowly beginning to recover. She’d lived by herself for most of her life, struggling to connect with the other people she met along her journey. On the other hand, we have ‘Lumen’ (from Animals) who narrates her story in first person and has a different kind of inner strength. Lumen was a very introverted person, in many ways the opposite of Temple, who hangs in the background, watching from afar and never quite sure whether to join in, or whether she would be wanted.

The Reapers Are The Angels follows Temple as she is hunted down by a man called Moses after killing his brother, who tried to rape her. Along the way she runs into many characters including Maurey, who has special needs, and takes him with her on her journey or race away from Moses. Throughout the story flashbacks reveal why she decided to help Maurey and the underlying reason for her guilt. One of the most memorable scenes in the novel, which truly creeped me out, was when Temple ran into new, different type of zombie which I like to call ‘zombie hillbillies’, an inbred super-zombie which had been experimenting with other substances.

The beautiful novel, which ranks amongst my favourite books, is very much a journey for Temple both literally and figuratively. It seems weird to call a zombie novel ‘beautiful’ but there was just something about it which really moved me. Another powerful scene was when Temple goes on a date with a random boy she met at a town that is beginning to reclaim areas street my street. She has a cola-cola with ice, hangs out, although deep down she feels she doesn’t belong and wants to hit the road again. I also enjoyed the moments between Moses and Temple, even though he’s the villain because they were so similar to each other.

What sets this book apart from other zombie fiction was that the creature aspect of the novel is not the centre and lurks in the background leaving space for plot development and the characters to breathe. I recommended that you keep some tissues nearby while reading it because I cried my eyes out at the end of it. My dad, who recommended the novel, was very pleased with my tears.  

When We Were Animals is a strange novel about a small town where when teenagers reach a certain age, they go ‘breaching’. Although the concept of breaching is never fully explained, it is best described as a pull where the teens lose control, running wild in the streets, sometimes naked, losing all normal inhibitions. Their parents don’t do anything about this because they did it themselves years earlier and it is seen as a peculiar right of passage into adulthood.

Lumen, however, swears she’ll never breach because of her mother. Soon everyone around her is breaching apart from her, including her only friend Polly. When the sound of the teens howling echoes the streets she hears her classmates calling her name and the pull becomes almost irresistible. The story also has many notable characters such as: Blackhat Roy, who is a personal favourite of mine and a real standout figure in the story. The novel also flashes forward to see Lumen as a married adult with a son, as she reflects back on her past and begins to feel the urge again.

I felt both novels had similar aspects; both are coming of age stories that include love, death and teenagers with strange types of freedom. Both also spend a lot of time alone.  In the world of 2019 technology is a huge part of life but in these stories it is barely ever mentioned. Allowing the plot to flow and the roaming of the characters to be rich and be grounded in reality. Though Lumen and Temple live in two very different worlds, they are both young girls growing up in hard places and in the end they are both human and very fragile characters which really touched me.

It was very hard to tell whether both books were adult or Young Adult novels, my dad gives me a mixture of both to read. When I get into a book I have real tunnel vision for it and I had that feeling for both these stories.

One of the stands out of When We Were Animals was the bad boy Blackhat Roy. He wasn’t a main character but his shadow dominated the book and I felt myself pulled to his dark, irresistible, side. Blackhat Roy was nasty, interesting, layered, violent and very human character that was entertaining to read and was the only true choice of Lumen. (RIP Peter).

I’m not too sure how well-known Angels Are The Reapers and When We Were Animals are, but I would recommend them for strong teenage or adult readers who enjoy clever horror about people in tough situations. My dad is a massive fan of this author also and we both hope he brings out another book soon.

I wonder how Lumen survive in a zombie-apocalypse? Or what would Temple make of the drama of high school? Maybe Alden or Josh will tell us in the accompanying interview.
AJ

In the last couple of months some terrific titles have come my way, which include dark fantasy, some juicy romance and the usual taste of teen dystopia. There are ten to choose from and hopefully you will be able to find something to catch the eye of a bored teenager, favourite niece or nephew, or stock up your library with new selections. They are not ranked in any particular order.

There seems to be a neverending supply of books, particularly in YA, with new stories being spun out of famous fictional stories. The Deathless Girls is a fine YA version of one of these and builds a story out of minor female vampire characters in Stoker's Dracula. In actual fact, they are so small I think they only featured in a few background scenes as his brides. So, it's an interesting, but very inevitable story, as readers of Dracula will know what is going to happen in the end. You do not have to have read Dracula to enjoy this though, the Count is barely in the book until the latter stages, but his mystique and reputation pre-empts his eventual appearance and he is nicely foreshadowed.  

The story is told through twins, Lil and Kizzy, who see their home burned and their family slaughtered and they are then sold as slaves. Much of the novel is about their unfortunate progression to eventually end up in the clutches of Dracula. Teen readers may find this a tad slow, but it is worth sticking with, both girls were engaging lead characters, with Lil narrating the story. Her sister always being the more outgoing and popular of the two and was greatly admired by Lil. The book puts much focus on the origins of the girls, who are gypsies and are looked down upon most of the others and culturally much information is provided on their background and Lil follows her sister who is taken to Dracula's castle first. This was an engaging historical fiction novel which wisely spent more time on the girls, their history family and culture, than on the vampire. Although I would not necessarily call it a horror novel, it will probably have more appeal to girls than boys and has much to say about how women and gypsies were treated in earlier centuries. Aimed at kids aged thirteen plus.

I am a huge fan of Dawn Kurtagich and we have featured both her previous novels The Dead House and Creeper Man on Ginger Nuts. Her latest novel Teeth in the Mist is perhaps even more ambitious and is a complex story, set in a huge mansion in rural Wales, split over three narratives in the present day, 1851 and 1583 with a strong supernatural theme permeating through the story. It was a very chunky book, with different fonts and voices and took a bit of time to get into the flow but it is worthy sticking with. This was the case with both her previous two novels, let us hope teenage readers give it a chance as it is not an easy read and will challenge many.

Sixteen-year-old photography buff Zoey ends up at Medwyn Mill House and is fascinated with the ruin and after spending the night there with her friend Poulton and is sure they are not alone.  Jumping back to 1851 seventeen-year-old Roan arrives at Mill House as a ward and soon realises she is connected to an ancient secret and must try and escape the house, but that is not as easy as it might sound. However, there is something connecting the three young women, which also includes Hermoine who relocates with her husband to the same area in 1583.  This was a very strong blend of mystery, horror and dark fantasy, even if it did not quite unsettle me in the way the magnificent Creeper Man did. But is certainly another highly original read as I have come to expect from this talented writer. Aimed at kids aged thirteen plus.

​
The Girl in the Locked Room is the perfect start for kids aged around nine or ten looking for haunted house stories which are not too scary, or long and have believable likable characters. Jules and her family move into a big old house which needs a lot of construction, the building gives her an odd vibe and before long she believes there is a girl (or a ghost) living in the locked top floor room. Moving back and forwards in time to when the ghost was alive Jules soon begins to unravel the secrets of what happened in the house over a century earlier. Not all ghosts are scary or nasty and this is a nice play on the ‘friendly’ ghost theme which also looks at friendship in a non-threatening manner and if parents are reading it aloud to younger children there is much to discuss. Aimed at kids aged eight to ten.

 
When Ginger Nuts seriously started covering YA novels back in 2015, many of our early posts included the equivalent of ‘best of’ lists based upon books I read over many previous years, as time progressed this has evolved to predominately feature new fiction. The books reviewed in 2017 and beyond are almost exclusively new titles and are a very good reflection of what is readily available on the market. I work as a School Librarian and actively select/seek out books which are aimed at both boys and girls and have recently been struggling to resource books with leading male characters. Indeed, recently a respected and well-informed American horror blogger contacted me and asked for good suggestions which featured leading YA male protagonists. I struggled to come up with a list and that initial enquiry partly inspired this article.
 
So, where have all the boys gone? There is no single answer, but lots of contributing factors, many of which are connected to YA in general, not singularly horror. Here’s some food for thought, feel free to disagree….
 
Are there any ‘best-selling’ YA horror authors in the UK?
 
Sadly, YA horror is not a huge market and at the moment, perhaps the UK in particular, is struggling for a horror poster boy (or girl) author. Who are the biggest names in the market? The answer is disappointing: there are none. Many of the top dogs of yesteryear have either dimmed in popularity or moved onto other things. Some examples; Darren Shan, who has sold millions of books, now writes adult titles as Darren Dash, William Hussey hasn’t written a YA novel since 2015, Cliff McNish hasn’t written a YA horror novel since 2011 and Jon Mayhew hasn’t written a horror novel since 2011. Others dark fiction writers I enjoy include who seem to have disappeared include Tom Becker, Charlie Higson, Sam Enthoven, Andrew Hammond, Dean Vincent Carter, Rick Yancey and FE Higgins. Note, however, I still heartily recommend all these authors.
 
Other authors have obviously found it more profitable to move onto other areas of fiction. To drive home this point I recently bumped into Sarah Naughton who was once nominated for the Children’s Costa Book Award for a horror novel but hasn’t written a YA book since The Blood List in 2014. Why is that?  Sarah also writes as Sarah J Naughton and since 2017 has written four successful adult mainstream thrillers. We all have to pay the bills and if you write YA horror don’t give up the day job.
 
However, a few do continue to proudly fly the horror flag. Marcus Sedgwick expertly flits between genres and still writes horror, Jonathan Stroud entertained with his Lockwood and Co series and Chris Priestley is always reliable for slightly younger readers and once in a while Neil Gaiman writes a novel, such as The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which YA audiences can tap into. All three also feature male characters.
 
Is Red Eye the only truly genuine YA horror brand in the UK?
 
We think so. Those of us who are old enough feel nostalgic when articles appear about Point Horror and Goosebumps, these books were equally popular with both male and female readers and the main protagonists were also split between the sexes. Their golden age was the 1990s, but they have seen smaller revivals here and there. These books were written to follow a certain formula and the marketing appealed equally to both sexes.  Interestingly, in 2019 there is only one genuine equivalent to Point Horror and that is the popular series Red Eye which is the first point of reference for school librarians recommending horror to their kids. It is worth noting that their covers are very gender neutral and from the blurbs it is often difficult to tell whether the main characters are male or female and often contain both.
 
This ‘brand’ has a wide range of authors writing for it, in the same way Point Horror did and when a kid asks me; “are there any new Red Eye book?” I’m always delighted! Funnily enough the most successful of the ten titles published thus far is Frozen Charlotte which you could argue is the most ‘girl-friendly’ and was picked up in a major marketing WH Smith campaign by Youtube personality Zoella. At the moment they seen to be releasing two books a year and have a wide range of talented authors writing for them. They should consider upping their publishing output.
 
It is worth noting that Badger Learning, who specialise in special needs such as Dyslexia, also regularly publish excellent horror aimed at older kids with lower reading ages. These are usually series which have around six books and include Tales of Horror, Horror Hotel, Paper Cuts and Dark Reads, many have the content for fourteen-year-old teens, but the reading age of much younger kids. Many of the stories also feature boys and are excellent for diversity.   
 
Few boys were interested in the bestselling subgenre Paranormal Romance
 
When Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight arrived in 2005 it kicked-off the sub-genre of paranormal romance, which was to dominate the horror teen charts for the next decade. Few boys bothered with Twilight and the YA publishing world quickly realised there was a massive industry here and the shelves heaved with everything from PC Cast’s never-ending House of Night series to Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires.  Before long paranormal romance expanded beyond vampires into angels (fallen or otherwise), werewolves, banshees and fairies. Once again, few boys ever read the works of the most popular authors which included Lauren Kate, Melissa Marr and Becca Fitzpatrick and the ‘non-romantic’ side of horror was underrepresented during the long reign of popularity these books had and has struggled to recover in the years since.
 
Does the publishing industry prefer girl empowering narratives?
 
If it nets them more sales then definitely. There is also plenty of statistical evidence to show girls spend more of their disposable income on books than boys. Twenty years ago, it was normal to presume books with blue covers were for boys and those which were pink were for girls. This is no longer the case, and quite right too, but you cannot get away from the fact that the likes of Paranormal Romance were predominately aimed at a female audience.  Since then, the literary and publishing industry has continued to favour girl empowerment narratives.  In the endless cycle of publishing perhaps more fiction aimed at girls has ultimately created more writers writing fiction aimed at girls. Budding authors will find it easier to sell their manuscripts if they have strong female narratives as they are more likely to get publishers biting.
 
Are boys more likely to jump to the ‘real stuff’ and skip YA horror altogether?
 
Has the publishing market pinpointed the fact that boys are more likely to read fiction that isn't categorised as YA or are more likely to skip straight to the ‘real’ stuff, particularly in horror? Possibly, but girls are just as likely to be mature readers. Recently there has been some discussion in the media that YA is too concerned with 'teen interests' and this is less likely to appeal to male adolescent readers, everything from refugees to people trafficking.  I frequently chat with plenty of young teenagers (boys and girls) skipping straight onto the likes of Stephen King who find the idea of reading ‘watered down’ YA horror a waste of time when they can tap into the real thing and who can blame when? The advertisement campaign of the film IT Part 2 is bound to suck a proportion of the film watchers to the original King masterpiece.
 
Also, the reality is many school librarians will not lend kids 11 and 12 years old (Years 7-8 in England) the likes of Stephen King for fear that parents may complain. This is the reality of the nanny-state we now live in. Whether you read IT or The Fog is as a 12-year-old twenty years ago is not the point most librarians would not give it to a kid in 2019 and so we really do need a wider selection of YA horror to attract these younger readers, both boys and girls.
 
Boys seriously dug Katniss Everdeen
 
Whilst lots of kids were sucked into both the Twilight books and films a new heroine was soon to appear on the horizon, Katniss Everdeen. The Hunger Games trilogy was equally popular with boys as it was with girls and heralded in a new wave of dystopian YA fiction, much of which tackled contemporary political, social and gender issues in dark, almost horror, settings. The Hunger Games may have been the leader of the pack, but there were other terrific examples which included male protagonists, such as The Maze Runner.
 
So, if paranormal romance was attempting to tap into the teenage girl audience, the dystopian fad was equally popular with boys. It has also been said that politically motivated series, which featured powerful messages about race and equality, such as Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses series has contributed to the politically motivated age-group which are now in their twenties but read these books as teenagers. The popularity of dystopian fiction may have peaked, but the likes of Teri Terri, Neal Shusterman and Virginia Bergin remain very popular with both boys and girls. Check out Shusterman’s outstanding Arc of the Scythe dystopian series with a superb split boy/girl narrative.

This more realistic horror pushed the horror of demons and monsters into the background and in a sense horror, in a wider sense, got more serious taking in politics and the environment.
 
The internet has dimmed the power of horror non-fiction
 
Halloween sees the rerelease of the 1977 cult classic World of the Unknown: Ghosts a non-fiction pictorial book published by Usborne which I vividly remember reading as a kid. In the pre-internet days kids lapped these types of books, could it be for pre-teenagers or those slightly older these types of books are now just seen as a little bit old hat when there is much freakier stuff available on Youtube?
 
As a teen I recall being amazed seeing pictures of poltergeists or spontaneous human combustion in books like this, but again these days the internet has replaced these images for sheer shock value. It is often said that boys read more non-fiction than girls, but when it comes to horror both boys and girls borrowing books on vampires, werewolves or aliens is a fraction of what it once was. It will be interesting to see whether there will be any interest in Ghosts, I have a feeling the children of today will view it as a time-capsule from another era, which it undoubtedly is.
 
Do girls really read more widely than boys?
 
There has long since been an assumption that girls read more widely than boys and there is statistical evidence to back it up. There is a certain amount of truth in this: as a rule boys did not read or borrow from my library paranormal romance and moving away from horror boys simply do not read books with a pink cover or, for example, the mainstream novels of the likes of Jacqueline Wilson or Cathy Cassidy (this type of fiction was once called ‘pink lit’). However, girls are not put off by gory covers and happily borrow adventure thrillers by the likes of Anthony Horowitz or Robert Muchamore, which you think might be more aimed at boys. Ultimately girls do seem to be more open to experimentation when it comes to books and are more likely to participate in reading challenges which might include books which seem to be geared towards a particular sex.
 
One of my top recommendations of the last couple of years is Amy Lukavics who has written four outstanding YA novels on the bounce, the first two of which were picked up by UK publishers and even though girls are the main characters in all the books, the covers are fairly neutral. Have I managed to get many boys to read these books? Not a chance and that’s a real shame.  
 
I was recently at a school librarian meeting about a book award and we discussed Justina Ireland’s stunning American Civil War novel Dread Nation and a couple of the librarians present who work in boys’ schools were very disappointed to see a girl predominately displayed on the cover. The main character is a teenage girl, but anyone would love it, but the reality is most boys will not see beyond the cover. The publisher should have known better, the book is about zombies, and there was scope to do something much more imaginative with the cover.
 
The new wave of female horror authors is setting the bar very high
 
The current wave of successful female horror writers and some of the very best YA dark fiction titles have been written by women an although they occasionally write with a male voice, most stick to their own gender. Are many of these books aimed at the female audience? Yes and no. I just mentioned one of my all-time favourites, Amy Lukavics; her leading characters are always girls and gender usually plays a key role in her stories. I interviewed Amy a while ago and danced around this subject:
 
“GNoH: There are a distinct lack of men/boys/boyfriends in all three of your novels, why do you write such female driven fiction? This is not a criticism! Only an observation…
Amy: It's not necessarily something I've done on purpose, but at the same time I've always written the books that I would want to read myself. And it just so happens that most of my favourite stories, horror or not, are centred around women. I especially love a good female villain!”

I could talk forever about the range of superb female writers, many of whom are American. The deep pool of talent include: Courtney Alameda, Rin Chupeco, Kami Garcia, Danielle Vega, Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Adriana Mather, Lauren Myracle, Cat Winters, Madeleine Roux, Jeyn Roberts, Kimberley Derting, Dawn Kurtagich, Victoria Dalpe, Amanda Hocking and many more.
 
Interestingly there are also many more men writing with female voices, but very few women writing with a male perspective, Theresa Braun’s excellent Fountain Dead is one of the few I have come across recently. Male writing as female characters as common as mud, from Scott Sigler’s Alive Trilogy to Matt Whyman’s cannibal romp The Savages and Dave Jeffrey’s splendid Beatrice Beecham series. 
 
On the other hand, I have noticed that more experienced authors, tend to have both boys and girls as voices, especially in series, Jonanthan Maberry being a good example. This obviously spreads the net wider and is more likely to be what the publisher is after.
 
Do boys spend more time playing computer games than girls?
 
Do boys spend more time playing computer games than girls? Almost certainly. Are computer games more addictive than in previous decades? Younger versions of myself would say no. The ten-year-old version of me found Pacman very addictive and the twenty-year-old version of myself found Resident Evil equally intensive. Potential male teen readers have always been lost to the home computer since the days of the Atari 2600 and then the Spectrum 48.
 
Of course, there are female computer gamers and girls who play off-shoots like Dungeons and Dragons, but this is primarily a male market and is geared at teenage boys. Perhaps publishers have clicked that girls are their primary YA fiction consumer as they have realised male readers have moved onto other things including comics and graphic novels or interconnected fiction like Warhammer. Having said that, my library deleted a significant collection of Warhammer novels a few years ago as nobody borrowed them at all. Ultimately their niche has moved away from the traditional book and at a certain age the videogame dominates and the YA book market, not just horror, has shrunk accordingly.
 
The lack of American YA horror being picked up by UK publishers is worrying
 
At the moment very few American YA horror novels are being picked up by UK publishers and being distributed with a British ISBN. This means they are unlikely to be available in UK bookshops and are not available through most traditional book suppliers which public and school libraries might use. A significant number of the new books we review on Ginger Nuts are not readily available in the UK unless you use Amazon, an option which will be unavailable to many schools and public libraries. It is a shame to see YA horror so under-represented in our last remaining bookshops, Waterstones and WH Smith, which concentrate on the tony selection of mainstream titles and the bigger selling 9-12 age group.
 
The disappearance on the garish/trashy horror YA novel
 
The massive success of Darren Shan in the early noughties led to a whole host of trashy, but very fun, horror cycles, which might not have been as big as Shan, but were still popular and often featured boys as leading characters. I hail David Gatward for his Dead Trilogy and the standalone Doom Rider, who is yet another author to abandon YA horror. I also lament the disappearance of the wonderful EE Richardson who set the horror world alight between 2005-07 with three wonderful horror novels, all of which had male lead characters; The Devil’s Footsteps, The Summoning, and The Intruders, although she has written other novels none of them touch these first three offerings. Around that period, it was fairly normal to see trashy kid versions of Guy N Smith novels filling the shelves, but this is no longer the case and they seem to have been a major casualty in the cutbacks in publishing.
 
It would nice to see a return of old-fashioned gore, guts and the gates of hell being ripped open for a new generation of young teens. If you’re nostalgic for this kind of stuff here’s a few suggestions from recent yesteryear: Stephen Cole’s The Wereling Trilogy, Steve Feasey’s The Changeling Series, Seb Rook’s Vampire Plague Series, Nick Gifford’s Flesh and Blood, Justin Somper’s Vampirates Series, and Simon Holt’s The Devouring Trilogy.
 
Conclusions
 
It would be terrific to see more boys represented in new and upcoming YA horror releases. However, our next Ginger Nuts YA round-up features more of the same, of the ten books reviewed nine include girls as the main character and one book has both male and female. Dark fiction titles aimed at the 9-12 age group, as they are often bracketed in the bookshops, usually have a more equal spread of boys and girls and it is disappointing that the teenage boy is sorely unrepresented in the older section. Boys get identification from ‘boy stuff’ and heroes fighting monsters which they can relate to and for many boy’s novels starring thoughtful teenage girls are just not what they want to read. The borrowing trends in my school certainly back this up.
 
Which YA horror novel am I reading at the moment? Only Ashes Remain by Rebecca Schaeffer, starring, you guessed it, another feisty teenage girl.
 
If you’re a reader of YA do let us know if there are any books featuring male characters we might have overlooked published in the last couple of years. 
 
Tony Jones

Jacqueline West is the author of the YA horror/dark fantasy novel Last Things, as well as the New York Times-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere and the award-winning middle grade fantasy The Collectors. Her first full-length poetry collection, Candle and Pins: Poems on Superstitions, was published in 2018 and was selected for the preliminary ballot of the Bram Stoker Awards. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in journals including Mythic Delirium, The Pedestal Magazine, ChiZine, Mirror Dance, and Liminality. She lives in Minnesota with her family. Visit her online at www.jacquelinewest.com. ​

New York Times-bestselling author Jacqueline West captivates readers with a dark, hypnotic story about the cost of talent--and the evil that lurks just out of sight. Fans of Holly Black and Victoria Schwab will be mesmerized by this gorgeous, magnetic novel.

High school senior Anders Thorson is unusually gifted. His band, Last Things, is legendary in their northern Minnesota hometown. With guitar skills that would amaze even if he weren't only eighteen, Anders is the focus of head-turning admiration. And Thea Malcom, a newcomer to the insular town, is one of his admirers. Thea seems to turn up everywhere Anders goes: gigs at the local coffeehouse, guitar lessons, even in the woods near Anders's home.

When strange things start happening to Anders, blame immediately falls on Thea. But is she trying to hurt him? Or save him? Can he trust a girl who doesn't seem to know the difference between dreams and reality? And how much are they both willing to sacrifice to get what they want?
​
Told from Anders's and Thea's dual points of view, this exquisitely crafted novel is full of unexpected twists and is for fans of Holly Black's The Darkest Part of the Forest and Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood.

"Everything I love in a book."--Victoria Schwab, author of #1 New York Times bestseller This Savage Song
"The kind of taut, atmospheric thriller that gets your heart racing and sets your imagination on fire. Sensational."--Claire Legrand, New York Times-bestselling author of Furyborn